A Photograph of You & I

Bam's P.O.V

I peeled out of the driveway hoping that I was headed in the direction Aina had taken. I knew I would reach her first, but whether or not I could convince her to listen to me before her mom came and interfered was another matter entirely.

"Bam slow down, it's only a forty through here."

I glanced at the speedometer. "I'm only doing sixty." I mumbled. Ryan's eyes widened.

"Yeah, you know how fucked you are if you get pulled over?"

"I don't care." I spotted footprints in the snow. They could only belong to one person. I continued on, flipping the high beams on.

"There!" Ryan's hand shot in front of my face as he pointed to the site of a fallen tree with a small little figure sitting on it. Aina looked up with a mixture of revulsion and recognition.

I rolled down my window and cut the engine, not wanting any additional noise to cloud the need in my voice.

"Aina, can you come here for a sec?"

She shook her head and remained seated. I tried to look as desperate as I could.

"Please, just for two seconds." She continued shaking her head and I sighed looking down at my stockings. I hadn't bothered with shoes, which were only wasted time. I opened the car door and slid out of the vehicle into the snow. Her eyes widened with apology as she observed my lack of appropriate footwear.

"Come here." I repeated, softer this time. She got up and came to me, immediately wrapping her arms around me and sobbing into my chest.

"Oh Bam, this is so wrong..." She murmured, each little word made my heart break for her.

"I know...I know..." I whispered, rubbing her back. I looked to Ryan for help but he seemed just as helpless as I felt.

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

She wiped a tear from her eyes and sniffed once. "I'm going home, Bam."

I pulled back to study her face. "Which home?"

"My home in London." She replied, letting go of me and backing off herself.

"Aina..." I tried to think of something, anything, to convince her to stay.

"My mind is made up Bam. There's too much pain here in West Chester. I just want to forget the past few weeks and get back to my old life."

"But-"

"No Bam, I've made up my mind. This is the best thing for me right now."

I opened my mouth to protest but a pair of headlights distracted me. Aina's mother's car pulled up in front of the Hummer and rumbled from the stop. She pulled further away from me with an apology written all over her face.

"I'll call you before I leave." She called, as she walked toward the car. I shook my head.

"I'll call you tomorrow." She nodded at my change in the plan and climbed in the car.

"Fuck, dude. What do we do now?" Ryan asked as I climbed in the Hummer. We watched as Aina and her mother pulled away, turning and heading in the direction of their house.

"This could be good." I answered finally.

"How could this possibly be good? She's leaving in case you didn't hear her."

"I know." I grinned and he just cocked his eyebrow.

"Ville and Jonna's flat is in London, remember?"

Ryan still looked at me blankly. "Do you know how many fuckin' people are in London, Bam?"

"A whole fuckload, but how many Finns are there with us for friends Ryan?"

He grinned. "Just two."

"Pack your bags when you get home. We're going to Europe." I sped forward and turned in the road, heading toward home.

Ville's P.O.V

"Ville do you want to bring this guitar?" Jonna asked. I nodded, not looking at her. She was packing up my things, seeming rather satisfied with herself. Her happiness only plunged me further into despair.

"Ville, what the hell is wrong? I'd think you'd be happy to hear you're going to be a father."

I didn't answer her. I had already been guilt tripping myself for reacting so badly to the news. Yes, I had wanted children, but Aina was the only one I wanted to mother them. This kid was being born into turmoil and it seemed so unfair.

"Ville?" Jonna pressed, coming to sit next to me on the bed. She wrapped an arm around me but I shrugged out of her grasp.

"Leave me alone please." I whispered. She sighed angrily.

"Ville if you're going to be all bent up over that other girl then you'd better just stop now. I'm not going to deal with you being like this."

"Then let me stay." I felt like saying but I remained silent.

"She's not even worth it." She continued. I felt my fists clench together but I still remained silent.

"I mean, jeez. She looked like a hooker to me."

That was it. "Shut the fuck up, Jonna! You've ruined everything! Don't you see? I left you because I was in love with her!"

I nearly clasped my hand over my mouth but I remained composed. I could have sworn I heard the Hummer speed down the driveway.

"I've ruined everything? Ville you were the one who couldn't keep your hands off me!" She spat back, throwing an unfolded shirt on top of the suitcase.

"I WAS DRUNK!" I roared, standing up in my rage.

"Well then maybe you should think before you hit the bottle again." Her voice was full of ice as she moved back to the closet to remove another bag.

"Maybe you should have thought before you stepped in to ruin me." I mumbled, heading out the door.

I took the stairs two at a time as I made my way toward the pirate bar. I found April busying herself with cleaning as she anxiously returned her gaze to out the window.

"Oh hi Ville." She greeted me, a forced smile upon her lips. Something was troubling her.

"Hi." I mumbled, throwing open the refrigerator door and removing a bottled water. I twisted the cap off before taking a long swig. It wasn't as satisfying as alcohol but I suspected hitting the bottle wouldn't help my situation any.

"Where'd Bam go?" I asked, taking a seat on a barstool, looking at April's tired face. She shrugged.

"More than likely went to go find Aina. He was eavesdropping while I was on the phone with Isa." My heart raced.

"Is everything okay?" I asked. "With Aina?"

She looked as though she could hit me, which was a scary thing considering Bam only ever received those looks. "Besides her heart, I suppose she's fine."

I looked down at my knees guiltily.

"Isa's coming over soon, I think it would be a good idea if you talked to her."

"Jonna will be upset-" I began but she cut me off.

"I don't care about Jonna right now Ville. I care about Aina."

"That makes two of us." I replied sadly. "That makes two of us."